Children Learn by Growing
“Teaching children about the natural world should be seen as one of the most important events in their lives.” – Thomas Berry, Author of The Dream of the Earth
When kids learn how to grow and care for plants, they learn many things, including responsibility, independence, teamwork, problem-solving, and discovery. They discover more than just the way Mother Nature works; they learn about themselves.
Here are some tips that we find work well for helping kids learn how to grow — both intellectually and in the garden. They’re great whether you’re growing with your own children or with students.
Start small- figuratively, and literally
Give new growers a small area in which to grow their onion plants, and keep the tasks manageable.
Assign responsibilities
A chart detailing what’s expected of everyone is a helpful visual aid. Review this with them periodically to instill confidence in your charges and to reinforce what you expect of them. If you have teens joining your crew, ask them to supervise the young ones which will help generate camaraderie.
Watch videos
Share some of our videos with your young gardeners, so they can see what some of the onion growth stages look like.
Encourage questions
Assure your kids that it’s smart to ask questions. Give them short, easily digestible answers
Record progress
Take photos and videos. Your children will be amazed to see the progress of onion growing from small plant to bulb: their own handiwork. Record these moments as often as you can.
Ask for Harvest Helpers
Invite some of your kids’ friends to help with the harvest, and they will go home with a basket full of fresh onions.
Plan a Cooking Party
Reward the kiddos with a party after your onion crop is dried and ready for kitchen adventures. Include some recipes that young ones can handle. Nothing says success like a celebration!
Success from Start to Finish, and Beyond
Growing onions will teach kids in the most graphic way possible where food comes from and all the effort it takes to grow and harvest it. Their budding relationship with the natural world will help them connect to it, and make them more inclined to continue to treat the Earth with care and wisdom.
Check out our gallery of customer photos to see whats been growing!
what are your thoughts about cutting the tops of the onion when they start to flop over because they are getting too tall ? when one of the tall leaves falls over and kinks , at that time cut all of the leaves back to about 8 inches.
We advise against cutting the tops as it will allow bacteria to enter the plant, essentially reaching the bulb which can cause rotting issues in storage.